


Valuable Items

by GachMoBrea



Series: Family Built Intricacies [1]
Category: White Collar
Genre: "Payback", AU, Alternate Universe, Blood, Canon deviation, Episode Related, FBI, Gen, Inspired Work!, Kidnapped, OOC?, One-Shot, Peter is Neal's DAD, Rescue, S2E14, Threats, mild violence?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 12:03:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7891438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GachMoBrea/pseuds/GachMoBrea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where Peter and Neal are father & son and only the FBI are supposed to know about it...<br/>The "Payback" episode (Season 2 Episode 14) gets a little re-write.</p><p> </p><p>The Violence is NOT that graphic...But there IS violence and blood, so I chose that Warning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Valuable Items

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [You Are My Sonshine](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2733818) by [badwolfchild](https://archiveofourown.org/users/badwolfchild/pseuds/badwolfchild). 



Peter gets Lang knocked out and almost has the phone before he hears a click of a gun. He looks up at the owner of the weapon and frowns.  
Keller.

"Peter Burke," Keller chuckles at the agent, weapon pointed at him. "We meet again."  
"What's this all about, Keller?" Peter frowns at the other man as he stands, mind whirling with possible outcomes as he keeps up a calm façade.  
"You know, I was very surprised to find out that my nemesis had procured himself a very valuable item," the murdering thief remarks, stepping closer to the cell but still remained at a safe distance. "Something so valuable that no one in the world could put a price on it. Not even me."  
"Is that what this whole thing is really about?" Peter tries to work through the man's double talk. "Did he take something you had your eyes on and now you want him to hand it over?"  
"No, this was all about my escape," Keller shrugs. "Having this little chat afterwards was just a bonus."  
"Just get to the point, Keller."  
"Why? You got somewhere to be?"  
"As a matter of fact, I do."  
"I think Neal's rubbing off on you, Burke," Keller chuckles. "You're loosening up your strict fed persona in order to better bond with him."  
It's then that Peter realizes what his captor was talking about when he mentioned something without a price. He doesn't know how the criminal could have discovered something the FBI was purposely keeping secret, but he had a sinking feeling that the cat was out of the bag.  
"Here I was hoping to build up to a dramatic reveal," Keller fake sighs. "But by the look on your face, you just realized that I know your little secret."  
"There's no secret," Peter denies, but he doesn't even convince himself.  
"Except for the fact that you're Neal Caffrey's father," the criminal grins at the agent's schooled expression. "It's amazing what you can learn on the inside."  
"How exactly did you learn it?" the agents tries to see if his captor was in monologue mode.  
"I don't think so," Keller clicks his tongue in time with his wagging finger. "Unlike you and your little fed family, I know how to keep a secret."  
"So, now what?" Peter frowns. "You kill me? Let Neal find my body and mock him about it? You'll be hunted down, forever looking over your shoulder even after you're caught."  
The criminal whistles, "Someone thinks they're high up on the totem pole."  
"I know my people."  
"And your son."  
Peter glares at his captor.  
"Yeah," Keller chuckles. "Long lost boy hunts down fed dad's murderer. Would make for a pretty nice headline on the papers. Wouldn't it?"  
"I'm not going to play your game, Keller," the agent straightens. "Whatever happens here, I hope you realize you've already lost."  
"See, that's the thing, Burke," the criminal takes a small step closer to the cage, steadily aims the gun at the agent. "You're not a player. You're just a piece."  
He smiles at the man's stoic expression, "And pieces don't get a choice if they get to play or not."  
He fires.

\- - -

Neal runs his hands through his hair again as he continues to pace in front of his father's desk. There's nothing else he can do. No more moves for him to make. No more plans, not even the desperate kinds, to try. He can only wait, pace, stress, pace some more, and hate Keller with every fiber of his being.  
His phone rings and he has it in front of his face before realizing he reached for it.  
"It's Peter!" he shouts at anyone, blinking at the caller ID for a second before answering. "Hello?"  
"Evening, Caffrey," Keller replies happily from the other side of the line.  
"How did you get my phone to say it was Peter?" Neal asks first, hope of his dad making a miraculous escape dying in one breath. "Where is he? What have you done with him?"  
"Woah, there, partner," his enemy chuckles. "Those are a lot of questions that you don't have time for."  
"What do you mean?" he growls. "What did you do?"  
"I shot your dad and left him in a cell," Keller is smiling over the line. Neal can HEAR it! "It's non-lethal right now but if you don't hurry, dear old dad is not gonna make it."  
'He knows.' Neal slams his fist on Peter's desk. "I'm going to kill you Keller!"  
"If I were you," his enemy replies icily. "I'd be more focused on who you want to keep alive."  
There's a 'whooshing' noise and Neal tries to call out to the criminal a few times, but it's useless. At least he left the line open.

Someone who had heard his shout traces the call and gets an address. Diana lets him ride shot gun to the place, ambulance sirens wailing behind them and police cars in front.  
Neal runs out of the car before it comes to a complete stop, hearing but ignoring the female agent's protest, and pushes his way in with the officers to the basement where he knew Peter was being kept.

He freezes at the sight and nearly passes out.

There's so much blood.

Neal can't breath. The world hazes around him as he focuses on the man beyond the bars. The officers search Long's body for the key to the mechanism but it's a coded keypad and the unconscious criminal is in no state to give it to them.  
Neal knows how to get inside. The solution it right there, sitting in his brain and waiting to be projected out his mouth. But he still can't breath.  
Diana pushes her way over to Peter to check for a pulse.  
When his father opens his eyes, Neal can finally breath again.  
He rushes over to the man's side and explains the way in. Not caring if anyone is listening, because he knows either Diana or Jones will use the information to get their boss out of the cell.  
"Peter?" Neal startles himself with his own voice. He didn't think he was capable of speaking yet. "Stay with me, Peter. Hold on, you got that?"  
"So...I get kidnapped," Peter says slowly, weakly, but there's a small smile on his face, "And you think...You can boss me...Around?"  
"That's how this works," the conman smiles despite the situation. "You get into trouble, I get to be the boss. So you better hang in there if you want to get at back me about it."  
"Neal," Peter grimaces. "Keller."  
"Don't worry about, Keller," Neal shakes his head. "He isn't important. You staying alive is what's important right now."  
"Don't let him...Rile you up," his father turns his head to look at him. "He's not...Worth it."  
Neal reaches through the bars to squeeze the agent's hand.  
"I won't," he lies.  
The officers finally get the cell open and the paramedics swarm into the small room to get at their patient.  
In the ensuing rush to get Peter stabilized for transport, Diana pulls Neal back and out of the building.

Elizabeth is waiting for them with teary eyes.  
"Is he?" she turns to Neal, hope for the best desperate in her voice.  
"He's going to make it," he assures her with all the confidence he lacked. "Our Peter's a fighter."  
Son and Wife hold on to each other as the paramedics wheel the agents out of the building and into the ambulance.  
As the lights and sirens fade away Neal vows to take Keller down. 

Whatever the cost to himself.

/-/*\\-\

**Author's Note:**

> I won nothing. (*Snort*) I mean, "I own nothing." But I haven't won anything either, so it isn't really a lie...?


End file.
